Political Science
A chaotic 21st Century
It is my prediction that the 21st century will be a chaotic one as opposed to a peaceful one as many us would desire it to be. While we all have to stay optimistic and hope that the twentieth century will bring good tidings to all of us, it is imperative that we be practical enough. There is plenty of indicators from the near past as well the present that serve to show to us plainly that the future does not portend well for us (Duncan 2008). By the future I am in reference to the years of the 21st century because it is also my belief that a few of us (if any at all), will be around at the turn of next century. Before anyone raises eyebrows, it would be prudent to check the life expectancy indications of any country around the world and find if there is any that one of 80 years or thereabouts.
Indicators from the past and the present
First, lets seek some not so good evidence from the past. It is common knowledge that the 20th century created a dangerous precedence in terms of increased number of opportunistic individuals.. It begun with early explores who went far afield to seek fortune especially for their authoritarian rulers or lords in mother countries . These were the acts that bred the great individualism that we see today in the world. The world has gradually grown under the dictates of those who place greater emphasis on their own individual rights to personal material wealth as opposed tho the general welfare of all the rest not to forget the very sustainability of the environment/ecosystem.
Indeed there is no doubt that the world is yet to get rid of the vice colonization which presently exist as neocolonialism. A few economically and politically nations, especially from the West, hold the power to virtually everything pertaining to life on the globe. It is an open secret that the Western nations and other heavy weight nations from other regions in the world do not always have the best interests of all at heart, especially for the smaller nations (Burriel 2002). It is almost certain that the sorry state of affairs is bound to remain unchanged going forth deep into the 21st century.
I fear that the 21st century will be chaotic and even war-prone considering that there are many so-called third world nations that are fast finding their economic might to the extent of challenging the traditional economic superpowers of the world (Guo 2006). Talk of Brazil, Angola, India and China just to mention but a few. It is more likely than not that the financial crisis that hit European nations in late 2008 could come to be a recipe for disaster in coming years of this century. This is because, apparently, as the West and its economic allies struggle, the East led by China are on a rapid rise. This is slowly but surely creating a new world order an mighty nations are finding themselves in unfamiliar territories where someone else is the boss. The great feeling of discomfort being felt and will continue to eat up the big powers is steadily making them to rethink their survival (Burriel 2002). At the moment it is cold-war but whether whether it would not blow into an all-out war to maintain the status quo is any one’s guess.
The master paradigm shift
In my view, also, trouble looms for the 21st century thanks to the certain master paradigm shift that is fast becoming commonplace (Duncan 2008). My fear stems from the fact that, because of economic issues and others, the master looking up on the slave for much needed help. By this I am alluding to the aspect that former colonial masters have found themselves at the mercy of financial or economical aid of their former colonies. Take for instance Angola’s recent multi-million “bailout” of Portugal, not to forget the sheer number of Portuguese forced to seek greener pastures in Brazil. All factors held constant, this would be a good thing. However, I foresee trouble some time in the 21st century (if things stay like this, that is) when the previously-vanquished nations that have turned savior would not resist the ever-present temptation to seek justice for their inhumane atrocities mounted on them decades ago. While the new kids on the blocks may not opt to go the same way as their former oppressors, they certainly exert some form of ruthlessness which would not go down well with those on the receiving end. Chaos or war in the offing, I fear.
The Threat of Modern Weapons
There is no denying that the increased production of sophisticated weapons of war in modern day does not portend well for the future. The world is full of conflicts that make much use of the lethal war and evidence is everywhere showing that more and more nations are revising upwards their military budgets (Cimbala 2010). For what they are preparing for with such moves does not require one to hold a masters in conflict and war to figure out – of course a chaotic near future. As Burriel (2002 puts it, “Today sophisticated weapons’ technology has created “smart” bombs that “surgically” execute war. Fighter jets that are unmanned are popular today doing the job in such volatile areas like Somalia, Darfur and Afghanistan. This is not overlook the varied biological weapons that scientists of different countries are devising day in day out. Nations are currently armed with harmful microorganisms that have resulted from genetic manipulation. In the same breath, nanotechnology possess the danger of having far-reaching effects in the sense of out-of-control self-replicating robots that could create havoc in the 21st century, for example.
Furthermore, the increasing use of technology in virtually all aspects of human life in the 21st century is not a good thing in its entirety. This is because technology is fast making people non-essential accessories to production, manufacturing and decision-making process. Lack of jobs and poverty would not foster peace as people will sooner or later resort to desperate illegal measures to make ends meet (Guo 2006).
Accordingly, discussion on the apparent threat of modern weapons cannot be exhausted without touching on the greatest of them all – Nuclear weapons. There is no doubts that the trending topic in the world as pertains to peace and security is the issue of nuclear weapons. As it is right now there is concerted effort to check the enrichment of uranium in laboratories of such countries like Iran (Cimbala 2010). Similarly, North Korea is upbeat testing its lethal weaponry in show of her military might to the world. While such actions of Iran and North Korea can not be assume, I am afraid forceful attempts to stop them would spell disaster in the form a dangerous nuclear World War III.
The issue of global warming
The continued destruction of the environment is great source of strife, starvation, disease as well as war in the 21st century (Cimbala 2010). The aspect of global warming coupled with that of the outburst in human population poses danger to the continued peaceful existence of humans, animals and plants. Current estimations put our number at 7 billion and is projected to hit the 9 million mark by 2050. Keeping in mind that there is already the problem of diminished resources to satisfy the needs of the current world population, I can only see an aggravated worse situation in the not so distant future.
Conclusion
In my considered opinion, we face a potentially chaotic, explosive and war-bound century that is the 21st century. There is no escaping unless the triggers of the dreaded times, which I have adequately covered herein, are addressed earlier enough to avert trouble.
Work Cited:
Burriel, Angeliki. A 21st Century of Maximum Civilization Or Chaotic-Anarchy and Epidemics. Indiana: Trafford Publishing, 2002.
Cimbala, J. Stephen. Nuclear weapons and cooperative security in the 21st century: the new disorder. London: Taylor & Francis, 2010.
Duncan, Raymond, W. World Politics in the 21st Century. Connecticut: Cengage Learning, 2008.
Guo, Sujian. China’s “peaceful rise” in the 21st century: domestic and international conditions. Farnham: Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., 2006
